Palliative Care and Multi-Agent Systems: A Necessary Paradigm Shift

• Published in: Clinics and practice Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 505 - 514
• Main Authors: Brondeel, Kimberley C., Duncan, Sheina A., Luther, Patrick M., Anderson, Alexandra, Bhargava, Pranav, Mosieri, Chizoba, Ahmadzadeh, Shahab, Shekoohi, Sahar, Cornett, Elyse M., Fox, Charles J., Kaye, Alan D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bari MDPI AG 01.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; chronic disease; Chronic illnesses; Health care expenditures; Hospice care; Immunization; Life expectancy; Lifestyles; multi-agent systems; Palliative care; Patients; Quality of life; Review; Sanitation; United States > US
• ISSN: 2039-7283; 2039-7275; 2039-7283
• DOI: 10.3390/clinpract13020046

Palliative care is intended to relieve caregivers of physical, psychological, and even spiritual elements of care. One of the most prevalent issues facing this form of care is a lack of healthcare resources and structures to deal with an aging population. This aging population is placing a strain on the healthcare system, prompting a need for a shift in system management. A potential answer to this issue may be the Multi-Agent System (MAS). This category of computerized networking system was created by programmers to gather relevant health information on a patient and allow for the system to act with other agents to decide the best course for disease management. It can also allow for a multidisciplinary healthcare team to make more informed plans of actions for their patients by providing accurate and up-to-date information resulting from a greater synergetic mesh. MASs could fulfill the demands of a rising chronic illness population and deliver high-quality care, indicating a major paradigm shift within the US. In this review, we will evaluate the aging population and contributing factors, palliative care and the need for the multi-agent system, and clinical considerations involving examples from healthcare systems both on and beyond US shores.